The Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu The Peated 2013–53.5% abv

60 ml grooming mini

Tasting notes:
Ooh, I can smell the malt on this one! Fresh and bright! Like asparagus used to wrap bacon rather than the reverse. I also want to say that the nose is wine casky. Can I say that, wine casky? Okay, there’s also peppermint, cinnamon shortbread cookies, and maraschino cherries. Wow, this thing is big on the mouth. B to the I to the G, y’all! Boom! I want to hose it down for fear of it blowing up! But then it resolves into something peaceful and delicious. I begin to feel like those Japanese macaques as they ease their way into the hot springs on a cold day. Wellness overspreads me; a quilt of contentment wraps me. And I feel an almost compulsive desire to groom Bill. [Bill: “Hey! Stop that!”] The finish is like the lingering smoke from a starting pistol fired at the beginning of an 800-metre race. My entire gustatory apparatus stands to cheer as the finish works its way around the track to the finish line. Salty ocean spray on flat shale rocks the color of whales. Cream of tartar added to a roux. Clear plastic packing tape. I want to stay with this a while. Bill, let me get that spot behind your ear…

Rating:

–On the scale of Japanese baseball players better known in the US in their retirement–Ichiro’s Malt Chichibu The Peated is Kaoru Betto–Sure, he won a Pacific League MVP and later managed the Hiroshima Carp, but Americans know him for his depiction as a bookish and almost surprised ball player on T-shirts worn by characters played by Jeff Bridges.

–John–Our thanks to Marcin Miller and the Number One Drinks Company for the sample!